AIR pollution kills 15,000 Bangladeshis each
year, according to a World Bank report released recently. The report says
Bangladesh could save between $200 million and $800 million per year --
about 0.7% to 3.0% of its gross national product -- if air pollution in
the country's four major cities was reduced.

The report adds that 6.5 million people in those cities
suffer each year. And the major disease in Bangladesh is not diarrhea, as
is the general perception, but the acute respiratory infections caused
mainly by the polluted air. Automobile and industrial emissions, bad civic
practices and poor government services are some of the major factors
causing Bangladesh's air polluted.

The World Bank gave Bangladesh $4.7 million last July
to fund an air quality management project. It also supports a training
programme for drivers of different vehicles to teach them how to reduce
emission. But, unfortunately no remarkable implementation of such
initiatives has yet been made.

Air pollution kills an estimated 2.7-3.0 million people
every year throughout the world, which is about 6 per cent of all annual
deaths. About 9 deaths in every 10 due to air pollution take place in the
developing world, where about 80 per cent of all people live. Again out of
this 2.7 million, 1.6+ million die in Asian countries only.

In cities that lack pollution control, millions of
people are at risk from air pollution. Densely populated and rapidly
growing cities such as Bangkok, Manila, Mexico City, and New Delhi are
often entombed in a pall of pollution from fume emitting trucks and cars
and from uncontrolled industrial emissions. In 1995, for example, the
average ozone concentration in Mexico City was about 0.15 parts per
million, 10 times the natural atmospheric concentration and twice the
maximum permitted in Japan or the US.

The density of lead in the air of Dhaka is 463
nanograms per cubic metre, which is ten times more than that in the
acceptable standard and several times more than the above mentioned
cities, even than the most polluted city of Mexico. Following are some
data in support of the above statement:

In a seminar organized by Sunder Jiban at ICDDR,B the
content of lead and cadmium in the blood of the children in Dhaka city was
revealed. The study was conducted at some important parts of the Dhaka
city, such as the Tejgaon Industrial Area, Mohammadpur, and Keraniganj. A
group of nine children from other parts of Dhaka city admitted to the CRSC
of ICDDR,B was used for comparison. The specific aim of the study was to
determine the blood lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) levels in children. It was
found that both Pb and Cd levels in the blood of the children from
high-risk areas were alarmingly high. These could be due to high lead in
the environment from gasoline, paints, ceramics, batteries, etc. High Pb
in hospitalized children indicates general contamination in the Dhaka
city. Young children are mostly exposed to Cd through inhalation of smoke
and contaminated dust from industrial emissions and sewage sludge.

An appropriate measure must be taken as soon as
possible, otherwise the suffering of the children (specially who are at
age between 4 and 7) from gastrointestinal disorders, anemia, insomnia,
weight loss, motor weakness, muscle paralysis, nephropathy, school
drop-out and behavioural changes, may paralyze the nation in future. Not
only that, this level of lead poisoning is a major factor responsible for
decreasing the mental abilities of the children as a result of which the
country will have acute shortage of intellectuals in the long run.

Lead pots, pipes, and smelters are usually held
responsible by the experts for loss of intelligence among children and for
brain damage and abnormal behaviour among adults. Heavy metals released
into the environment today come by way of uncontrolled emissions by metal
smelters and other industrial activities, unsafe disposal of industrial
wastes and lead in water pipes, paint, and gasoline.

The heavy metals most dangerous to health include lead,
mercury, cadmium, arsenic, copper, zinc, and chromium. Such metals are
found naturally in the soil in trace amounts, which even pose many
problems. When concentrated in particular areas, however, they present a
serious danger. Arsenic and cadmium, for instance, can cause cancer.
Mercury can cause mutations and genetic damage, while copper, lead, and
mercury can cause brain and bone damage. Lead additives in gasoline cause
widespread health problems. In Thailand, for example, a 1990 study found
that some 70,000 children in Bangkok risked losing four or more points of
IQ because they were heavily exposed to lead emissions from motor
vehicles. In Latin America, some 15 million children under the age of two
are at risk of ill health from lead pollution.

Air pollution is not only a health hazard but also
reduces food production and timber harvests, because high levels of
pollution impair photosynthesis. In Germany, for example, about US$4.7
billion a year in agricultural production is lost due to high levels of
sulfur, nitrogen oxides, and ozone.

The World Health Organisation estimates that about
700,000 deaths annually could be prevented in developing countries if
three major atmospheric pollutants -- carbon monoxide, suspended
particulate matter, and lead -- were brought down to safer levels. The
direct health cost of urban air pollution in developing countries was
estimated in 1995 at nearly US$100 billion a year. (Chronic bronchitis
alone accounted for around US$40 billion).

The following stringent measures can be fully
implemented and also adopted without wasting further time to save the huge
amount by making the atmosphere environment-friendly:

'Strong political will' to protect the environment;

Complete ban on import and use of lead containing
materials;

Complete ban on 2-stroke engine vehicles, as
envisaged;

Strictest measures to convert the baby-taxies and
tempos to environment-friendly ones or phase those out through
double-deckers and other heavy vehicles, as envisaged;

Immediate screen-out of unfit vehicles and
strictest measures to ban their plying on the streets, as envisaged;

Safe disposal of industrial waste;

Possible interventions/mitigation for exposed
population;

Maintenance of optimal nutritional status of
essential metals;

Creating more and more public awareness on the
sources and causes of exposure to these toxic elements;

Strict enforcement of existing laws and creation
and enforcement of new laws, if necessary;

Formation of a national steering committee
including NGO representatives with administrative powers;

International convention on climate change to come
to a consensus for a global challenge to improve the living standards
without destroying the environment;

The UN sanction can be imposed on the countries,
where environmental condition come below the standard level, as it is
a matter of human rights.

Conclusion:

We do not want to die so disastrously. We will fight
against the evil forces polluting our environment. We urge all concerned
citizens of the country to unite and move in a body to create pressure on
the government to save the environment for the sake our children who will
hold the steering wheel of the country in the future. Now is the time to
get the politicians committed to do the work for the nation. Let us take
all possible steps to make people understand the environmental situation
of the country and the importance of safe environment.